Health and fitness.....and nystagmus?

I received a question from a good friend of mine, and a life time family friend, Andy. His question read:

"I have a question for your blog. You're obviously a healthy bloke (man after my own heart). I've seen some great bouldering pics on your Instagram (I've recently started too - love it). Can you talk a little bit about how health and fitness have helped you with nystagmus? Does the nystagmus make living an active lifestyle even more challenging? and what sort of advice can you give to any other budding 'wiggly eyed warriors' out there who want to get more active?"

If I'm being honest, I couldn't say whether my health and fitness has helped me deal with my nystagmus, but my nystagmus has helped with my health and fitness. For example, I can't drive, I have to be my own mode of transport, therefore I have to ride my bike everywhere, alternatively I have to run places if I wanna get there quick. Which sucks when it's cold and/or wet. But it does have its advantages, I can rarely have an 'off day', I have to be active to get to work. Also, I don't bother doing any cardio down the gym, by the time I've arrived I've usually already ridden 25km in that day..... which is great for me, as I hate using cardio machines with that clock/timer just staring me in the face.

In terms of sports, I figure it'll be easier for me to write this as a list of some of the sports/activities I have tried over the years, and my experience with them (I'm sure others with nystagmus will have had different experiences with the sports I mention, or they may have tried more/different sports).

Ball sports:

I suppose it depends on the ball sport, in terms of big ball sports like football, rugby, basketball etc., it's not too bad. My problem is that I'm just not very good at them sports.

As I said in my last post: "I never really put my lack of ball sports abilities down to my eyesight, I just assumed I wasn't very good at them...but if we're making excuses, I suppose we could blame my nystagmus and short sightedness.."

In terms of your small ball sports like tennis, baseball or golf it is a lot harder. I never really enjoyed golf because, yes I always lose my ball, but it's because I can't see why I'm losing it. For example, if someone with great eyesight is learning to play golf, they hit the ball and after their swing they look up and they see that their ball is drifting slightly left, so they think to themselves "OK, next time I'll hit it a little to the right" and that's what they'll attempt to do. Then they'll watch the ball again after their next swing, and they can see where the ball is going and from that they are able to gauge their progression. It doesn’t quite work like that for me. I hit that first ball, look up and all I see is sky, I have no gauge if my ball has gone to the left, to the right….I don't even know if it was a perfect shot....but how can I improve on something where I can't even begin to tell what I might be doing wrong!?

Climbing (on actual rocks, not indoors) can be hard to see clearly where to go next. It's very hard for me to gauge what the rocks are doing, everything blurs into one big wall. It's far from impossible for me to climb outside, but it is harder and I do need to take more time figuring out my next move(s).

Depth perception issues with snowboarding (or skiing). I can't tell where the mountain I'm on ends, and the mountain in the distance begins. I can't wear goggles, I have to wear sunglasses, for some reason the tint on goggles gives me no form of depth perception, just a bright orangey white canvas. And on a cloudy day….if I had a dollar for every time I've stacked it on a small bit of powder because I've turned my body at the exact wrong time due to not seeing the powdered snow, and falling flat on my face......well, I'd probably have about $20.... it's not a lot, but it's better than a slap in the face and no money.

Scuba diving's not too bad, I sometimes have to ask people to repeat hand signals, and I do struggle to see things that others can clearly see....but a lot of this marine life does like to be camouflaged.

Down the Gym I’m fine….Unless people don't put certain equipment back where it should be, then I struggle to find it .....even if it's hidden in plan site

With boxing my nystagmus might've helped!? I mean I can't make out my opponent's eye directions, so I couldn't be put off by what they "wanted me to think they were going to do next" and I could just focus on what they actually were doing. Some may argue that my head shaking may have made me harder to hit….I can assure you that this is not the case.

All things are hard though, when people are giving demonstrations of what they want me to do, I need to be at the front of the group, as close as possible, so that I can see what's expected/what I need to do.

Advice:

I suppose it's all a little bit too easy for me to say "just do it". I suppose I've been lucky and always had that drive to keep me going. I remember when I had just started going to the gym when I was 17, even on days where I didn't feel like going, or couldn't be bothered, I still made myself go on them days, as I didn't want to start a rhythm of not going when I "couldn't be bothered". And I suppose that drive is still with me now.

The reality is, some sports are going to be harder than others for people with nystagmus. Unfortunately you might find that you can't play a particular sport as your eyesight is holding you back. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least try, NEVER JUST ASSUME THAT YOU CAN'T DO SOMETHING. You might also find that you will struggle harder than some at learning, and it might be more of a challenge, but NEVER GIVE UP, keep pushing. And on the plus side, they are loads of sports out there, so if your eyesight is holding you back in one sport, it won't hold you back in all sports.

Good luck, and above all, enjoy!

Thanks for the great question Andy. If anyone has any questions on any subjects nystagmus or Te Araroa related, please feel free to get in contact with me here.